Broom-holder.



No. 637,208. Patented Nov. '14, I899.

'D. S. HUGHES 8:. A. J. MUNGEB.

BROOM HOLDER.

(Application filed Sept. 1, 1899.)

("0 Model.

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U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DENISON S. HUGHES AND ANDREW MUNGER, OF ANT-WERP, OHIO.

BROOM-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 637,208, dated November 14, 1899.

Application filed September 1,1899. Serial No. 729,213. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern.- 1

Be it known that We, DENISON S. HUGHES and ANDREW J. MUNGER, citizens of the United States, residing at Antwerp, in the county of Paulding and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Broom-Holder, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in broom-holders.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of broom-holders and to provide a simple, durable, and com; paratively inexpensive one adapted to support a large number of brooms and capable of enabling the same to be advantageously displayed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which will enable brooms to be readily removed from and replaced in the rack by simply manipulating the broom.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully'described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a broom rack or holder constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail perspective view of a portion of the same, illustrating the construction of the hinged clamps.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in both figures of the drawings.

1 designates a circular frame disposed hori- 'zontally and composed of inner and outer circular Wires 2 and 3 and transverse connecting-wires 4, disposed radially with relation to the circular frame and provided at their ends with eyes 5 and 6, embracing the inner and outer circular wires 2 and 3 and engaging kinks or bends 7 and 8 thereof, whereby the connecting-Wires are prevented from slipping around the frame. The outer and 15, arranged on the inner circular Wire 2, which forms a pintle for all of the hinged clamps. The U-shaped engaging portion of the clamp 10 conforms to the configuration of the adjacent portion of a broom-handle 11*, which is firmly held between the hinged jaw and the fixed jaw or portion 9. The free end of the clamp normally rests upon the outer circular wire 3, and its upward movement is limited bya depending substantially U-shaped loop 16, formed integral with the side .13 and receiving the adjacent wire 4. The depending loop 16 is normally arranged in a vertical position, and when the hinged clamp is swung upward its lower portion, which extends laterally beneath the Wire 4, engages the same and limits such upward movement.

The brooms depend from the rack or holder, and the hinged clamps are automatic in their operation and drop into engagement with a broom-handle as soon as it is inserted in the rack or holder, and the weight of the broom firmly holds the clamp in engagement with the handle. By lifting the broom slightly the clamp is swung upward and the said broom,

which is thereby released, may be readily Withdrawn from the rack or holder.

The circular frame is suspended from a hanger 17 by inclined stay-rods 18, secured at their upper ends to a ring 19 and having their lower ends connected with the frame, preferably by triangular loops 20. The lower portions of the triangular loops are adapted to connect the inner and outer rings and cooperate with the adjacent hinged clamp. The ring 19 is provided with perforations to receive the upper ends of the rods, which are provided with hooks 21. The hanger con* sists of a stem provided at its upper end with a loop or eye 22 and having a flange 23 at its lower end to support the ring 10. The ring is adapted to rotate on the hanger, so that any portion of the rack or holder may be readily brought adjacent to the operator by simply rotating the device.

It will be seen that the rack or holderv is simple and comparativelyinexpensive in construction, that it is adapted to hold a comparatively large number of brooms, and that the same may be readily removed from and replaced in the device. It will be apparent that the hinged clamps are automatic in their operation and engage the handle of a broom as soon as the same is placed in the rack or holder and that the clamps are readily swung upward out of such engagement by simply lifting a broom.

Changes in the form, proportion, size, and the minor details of construction within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of thisinvention.

What is claimed is l. A device of the class described comprising a frame provided with a series of fixed portions or jaws adapted to engage the handles of brooms, and clamps hinged to the frame, cooperating with the fixed portions or jaws thereof and provided with loops receiving portions of the frame, whereby the movement of the clamps is limited substantially as described.

2. A device of the class described comprising a frame having inner and outer portions arranged in the same horizontal plane, and a series of swinging clamps hinged to one of the said portions of the frame and cooperating with the other portion and located above the same to rest thereon when notin engagement'with the article to be supported, said clamps being provided with depending and laterally-extending portions arranged to engage the frame, wherebytheir upward swing is limited, substantially as described.

3. A device of the class described comprising a circular frame composed of inner and outer wires, the outer wire being provided with bends forming jaws, radialwires connecting the inner and outer Wires, and a series of hinged clamps having eyes to receive the inner Wire, and provided with depending loops arranged to engage the radial wires,substantially as described.

4:. A device of the class described comprising a circular frame composed of inner and outer circular wires and radial connectingwires, clamps hinged to one of the circular wires and cooperating with the other, said clamps being arranged to engage the radial wires, whereby their movement is limited, a hanger, and inclined wires or rods connecting the frame with the hanger, substantially as described.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination with a frame havinga fixed portion or jaw, of a hinged clamp consisting of a substantially U-shaped jaw and two sides, one of the sides being provided with a dependingloop receiving a portion of the frame, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have hereto affixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

DENISON S. HUGHES. ANDREW J. MUNGER.

Witnesses:

GLADYS BUsBY, II. T. MURPHY. 

